Is price a good way to compare material packages?

What’s in your Log Home material package?

By Jack Hutslar
Authorized Dealer
Honest Abe Log Homes
Log Home Dealer since 2001

Is price a good way to compare material packages?

A number of log home buying customers have told me that they are going to purchase the cheapest log home material package that they can find. Is price the best way to determine which material package to purchase.

Let us look at log home material packages in depth. For the most part that means materials, the quality of those materials and an itemized list of those materials.

- Price

- Materials

- Quality of those materials

- List of the materials = Contents

Before examining these factors, let us look at your entire home. Suppose that it takes 200 different types of materials and labor to complete your home. We can say that it comes to a total of $200,000 when your home is done. That includes basement, floors, log walls, 2nd floor system, doors, windows, roof system, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, cabinets, counter tops, driveway, sheet-rock, paint, well, septic, power, labor and on and on. Everything.

Material packages do not include all of the items needed for your home. For the purpose of this illustration, let us suppose that the material package that you purchase from Honest Abe includes 67 of these items at a total cost of $67,000. That equals 33% of your entire home turnkey cost. It takes another $133,000 to complete your home.

Now suppose you look at a material package from another company and it is priced at $57,000. Can you tell from this price alone exactly what you are going to receive for your money. Is $57,000 a better deal than $67,000. It is certainly less money but is it a better deal. How much more does it take to complete your home? $122,000? $133,000? $143,000? How much more?

Look at it this way. It takes $200,000 in material and labor to build your home. This is regardless of the cost of the material package. The less expensive material package may be short on material in which case you will add another $10,000 to the builder side of the equation. That brings the builder side up to $143,000. Have you saved any money by purchasing the less complete and lower priced package? No.

Furthermore, if the $57,000 can be attributed to less costly and perhaps substandard material, have you really saved $10,000? How long will cheap materials hold up compared to good quality materials.

If that $57,000 package includes a less desirable or less expensive truss roof systems without the insulation, then we are not comparing apples to apples. Take those types of material differences into consideration when doing your evaluations. Now make a financial comparison.

The basic question is, can you tell from price alone “What’s In Your Package?” 

The answer is a resounding NO. You cannot tell from price alone the value of your package. When you do not know what is in your package, it is guess-work to determine if the price is right or not. You may be able to figure it out but it will take some research on your part.

Materials. 

Those lower priced material packages is less expensive for a reason. First, look at the materials list. Is it itemized? Can you tell exactly what you have been asked to purchase. What is in your package? Is the subfloor included. Are all of the windows and doors included? Are wall partitions in the package? What is the quality of the windows and doors? Is there any roof insulation in the package?

Furthermore, are you being sold cheap wet or green logs or kiln dried logs? Do you know the long-term differences between various kinds of logs? Are you being sold a truss roof system or a heavy timber roof system? Are the gable ends finished with boards or matching siding. Are the interior partitions included in your package? Is the baseboard and window trim in your package? Does the package include exterior stain with a warranty? Do all companies honor warranty issues involving defective materials? The answer is NO. In fact, you may find that some dealers will not even return your calls.

The typical material package from Honest Abe Log Homes includes all the following items. They are:

- subfloor
- porch system
- deck material

- log walls [seven options]
- ceiling system [two options]
- roof system [five options]

- insulation
- gable end material with matching siding
- interior partitions

- baseboard, window and ceiling trim
- interior doors
- stairs [two options]

- windows with interior and exterior cedar trim [four options]
- exterior doors with exterior cedar trim [many options]
- stain

Quality of Materials. 

Honest Abe provides good quality materials in your package. There are no cost-cutting substandard materials in the package. For instance, the logs are kiln dried. The window and door selections are of good quality. The heavy timber support beams for the floor and roof system are made of Douglas fir, not some less strong or unstable wood. The heavy timber floor system includes 2x6 tongue and groove premium spruce as does the heavy timber roof system and porch, not Southern yellow pine? The stain is a three-coat process that is warranted for five years? Honest Abe materials are of good quality.

List of materials. 

The Honest Abe material package price quote is presented as a line item list of materials. We also provide a second list of materials for the builder. I have also prepared a third list of items that are NOT in the package. When these lists are examined, and placed side by side with the packages of other companies, it is very clear what is in the package and what is not in the package. By making these side-by-side comparisons, it is possible to see the value and worth of the Honest Abe material package.

To review, many items and months of labor go into the construction of your finished home. The material packages that companies offer vary considerably in content and quality. The inclusion of substandard materials is a way for companies to reduce the cost of their material packages. Obviously, reduced content reduces costs. However, the builders must purchase the materials that are NOT in the package. Where is the savings? Finally, companies will underestimate the turnkey cost to build your home.

Why do companies do this? It is very simple. Some people shop by price. These company representatives know that many buyers believe that all material packages are alike. It is simply not true.

Put this all together and you may come up with the following conclusion. Without an itemized list of materials, an accurate price comparison from one company to another cannot be made. When shopping for your log home or timber frame home material package, ask questions. Do your homework. Find out the exact content of the material package. Get it in writing. Do the best you can to determine the quality of the materials in the package. Remember, good is not cheap and cheap is not good. Buyers beware.

For more information, or to compare any other material package with the Honest Abe material package, contact Jack Hutslar at 800 767-4916 or Jack@LogHomesByJack.com

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This is brought to you by LogHomesByJack.com. Serving Virginia from Smith Mountain Lake and North Carolina from the Piedmont Triad. Offering a very good combination of price, quality of materials and service. When in doubt, give Jack a shout. 800 767-4916.